


Of Spirits and Attraction

by Unoriginalpoet



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Aang was there, Alternate Ending, Could Be Canon, Cute Ending, Cute Moment, Episode: s03e03 The Painted Lady, F/M, Fluff, Friendship, Kataang - Freeform, Romance, Short & Sweet, she's beautiful
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-19
Updated: 2021-01-19
Packaged: 2021-03-17 07:06:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,871
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28845051
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Unoriginalpoet/pseuds/Unoriginalpoet
Summary: After the painted lady leaves, Katara finds she isn't alone on the bank of the river. And he was right; she was beautiful. "...When did I say that?" "Back when you caught me. You said that I was a more attractive spirit before you realized it was just me pretending to be the painted lady." [Pointless one-shot staged after Katara's encounter with the painted lady]
Relationships: Aang/Katara (Avatar)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 26





	Of Spirits and Attraction

**Author's Note:**

> I own nothing of AtLA.

**Of Spirits and Attraction**

**...**

**..**

**.**

Those two little words seemed to linger on the cusp of the waves.

"Thank you."

The weight of them held her rooted to the waters edge even though their voice was only an echo now. That and the sight of a once gloomy town coming back to life in the distance. Lights strung between the rooftops gave it a warm glow, and the vibrant chatter of voices laced underneath the colorful music made her nearly skim the water's surface again to join in their celebrations.

Though... she didn't.

Instead, she pulled her knees to her chest and settled her chin on them, content to take in the sight from a distance. The span of the river kept the sound of the village hushed above the gentle lapping of the water, and she lingered in the soft ambience it created around her as it soothed the tension and stress that had built up in her sore muscles. She was a little surprised she hadn't crashed along with her brother since cleaning a river of pollutants wasn't the most leisurely activity one could spend their day doing.

But she would've done it again in a heartbeat for those people. _I will never turn my back on people who need me_. She meant it. True, she had never intended to bring the lore of the village to life, but she could hardly give herself any credit after being thanked by that very lore. It almost seemed too good to be true.

"The painted lady," She began quietly, appearing as if she were giving voice to her thoughts into the stillness of the night, though oddly she knew exactly whose ears were receiving them. There was nothing of his presence that alerted her he was there, and yet, she knew he was. "You saw her too, right?"

The loose gravel shifted with minimal sound as Aang appeared next to her and she turned her head to peer up at him, seeking his confirmation on something that couldn't have simply been a mirage of her own doing. At least, she hoped not.

He nodded, albeit his expression more akin to being the one caught taking the last egg custard tart. "I didn't mean to eavesdrop though," He said, looking guilty despite his words.

She found his reaction rather amusing as the corner of her mouth twitched for a smile. "Oh no? Then how come you've been hiding behind that rock over there for a few minutes now?"

His mouth shot open to respond, but it closed almost immediately after and her amusement grew in the short seconds he was silently pondering his words. He shrugged rather awkwardly as the words finally left his lips. "Well, I just noticed you left and thought maybe you might need my help saving another town."

It was a lame excuse, but it got a tired and breathy chuckle from her as she made way to stand up, taking his offered hand when he noticed her actions. "I think one a day is my limit for now," She teased with a smirk as she came face to face with him. If she hadn't been so exhausted from the day's river cleaning she would've taken his held gaze as an opportunity to appreciate how beautifully his gray eyes reflected the village like a hazy candlelight, but the moment was interrupted all the same when a few loud popping noises sounded in the distance followed by excited cheers.

It came as a mild disappointment when the warmth of his hand suddenly left hers because of it, followed by the sound of him clearing his throat, but she kept her watch on the celebrations. Their conversation lulled just long enough for a comfortable silence to settle between them, and she relaxed into it as the stillness tried to tug her tired eyelids down. Aang was the first to break it.

"You did a really great thing today for those people." She looked at him out of the corner of her eye to see a smile on his face as his eyes darted to meet hers. "I'm proud of you."

Her heart wanted to bask in the warmth of his smile and his words, but she didn't like the way his statement was phrased and a frown settled in instead. "It wasn't _just_ me though; we all helped."

"Yeah, but it was because of you that we did," He countered easily, as if expecting that very response, "If you hadn't made Appa nauseous with those purple berries then that village would be no better off now than it was when we first got here."

"But it was thanks to the two of us that the factory was destroyed, and I wouldn't have been able to scare off those Fire Nation soldiers if you hadn't helped me."

A smile tugged at the corner of his lips and a chuckle escaped him when Aang shook his head. "I'm not saying you did it all by yourself, Katara, but the painted lady thanked you and _only you_ tonight." He shrugged. "That kind of says something in my book."

"Well, all I did was see a need and fill it. Many of their sick wouldn't have made it much longer had I not healed them." Her eyes narrowed over the water as she grimaced. "The sludge from that factory really wrecked their systems, it almost made me gag some of the stuff I pulled from them."

Though purposefully vague, she could tell his imagination lent some unfavorable options to his mind, and he grimaced too. "I don't doubt that, but I guess that's why I came over here. Seeing you stand up for these people and help them makes me sorry it ever took Appa and those berries for us to do the same. For _me_ to do the same. And.. well.. I'm really glad you did."

Katara cocked her head to the side and saw he was peering over to her with an incredibly warm smile that made her want to melt. She smiled. "Thanks Aang."

They stared at each other for a moment before he suddenly chuckled. "You know, Sokka might just flip when he finds out the painted lady wasn't a legend after all."

"I think I'm a little more worried about what else he'll have us do during our breaks to make up for the time we spent here," She laughed. Aang groaned, the thought never crossing his mind. Her laughter quickly died out in a yawn, and she turned around towards the path that lead to their spot, nudging his shoulder as she did so. "Come on, we should probably get some sleep."

A yawn escaping his mouth was his agreeable response, and they began making their way up the embankment towards the camp. In seconds, the sight of Toph and Sokka's sleeping forms were in plain view and the two remaining awake attended to their own makeshift beds that were next to each other, Aang to Appa's side and Katara to her sleeping bag a short few steps away.

Despite being tired, Katara found that once she was situated comfortably inside her sleeping bag, her mind went back to her encounter with the painted lady and a thought occurred to her. "You know were right about her," She whispered, her voice barely above the light snoring of her sleeping companions. A raspy low hum told her Aang was listening, albeit half-awake at best. A small smile graced her face as she continued anyways. "She was breathtaking."

"...When did I say that?"

"Hm?" She gave him a sideways glance, noticing the way his brow was creased with confusion, suddenly a bit more alert than before. Her own brows lifted, slightly taken aback that he'd forgotten so easily, but it could've been the exhaustion. "Back when you caught me. You said that I was a more attractive spirit before you realized it was just me pretending to be the painted lady." The compliment brought a heat to her cheeks as she remembered it, but she hoped it wasn't too visible in the darkness around them considering his words hadn't been directed towards her. "I know we don't look alike, but in a way you were still right when you said that. She really was beautiful."

"Oh.. right." His response came slowly. "Actually, Katara I—"

"NO! THAT'S MY TWO HEADED FISH BUB!"

Both Aang and Katara snapped their heads with a bated gasp towards Sokka who was now upright on his sleeping bag, face slacked in a half-sleep wake as he pointed an accusing finger towards the empty space across from him.

Without warning, his angry expression softened into a wide smile and he began speaking again in a mockingly posh voice and gesturing into thin air. "Why yess, kind sirr. Please fill my baag with your ffinnesst sseal jerky."

Then, just as fast as it happened, he fell back and within seconds was snoring soundly again as if nothing had happened. Katara and Aang let out the breaths they'd been holding and gave each other a questioning glance before they quietly laughed it off.

"I think that's enough excitement for one night," She quietly said as her laughter subsided and she relaxed back onto her sleeping bag.

"You said it." His breathy chuckle came as he followed suit and he yawned, his eyes barely even open anymore. "Goodnight Katara."

She tossed him a half-smile as she said, "Goodnight Aang," and then turned so that she was laying on her side away from him. Letting out an inaudible yawn, she could suddenly feel just how tired her body was now that her muscles were relaxed and her eyes quickly fluttered shut in response. Blackness began surrounding her as she felt herself drifting off when in the stillness of the night, she heard...

"Spirit or not.. you're still.. more... beautiful to... me.."

Her eyes flew open and she quickly turned at those sleepy words only to be greeted by the fact that Aang's back was to her. She waited with bated breath for anything more, but was only met with silence as she wondered whether the boy had fallen asleep. The steady movement of his chest was enough to convince her of that, but that only left her confused. For a moment she contemplated whether she was hearing things, but the unmistakability of Aang's voice kept her from believing that. And despite the sleepiness in them, there was no mistaking his words either.

A smile tugged at her lips as she observed him for a moment more before turning back away from him again. She'd barely heard his soft whisper so she wasn't entirely sure she was meant to hear him at all, but that didn't stop the warmth that blossomed in her chest. She wouldn't readily admit the hope she'd had thinking maybe there was some validity in his words the previous night, and it seemed she got her answer.

"Thanks Aang," She whispered, knowing he was already asleep and wouldn't hear her. The sound of snoring that followed lulled her to sleep with a smile still lazily stretched across her face, and oblivious to the contented sigh that escaped his lips.


End file.
